


Separation

by the_captain_of_the_ship



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Present Tense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 07:41:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19421515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_captain_of_the_ship/pseuds/the_captain_of_the_ship
Summary: This is Star Wars mixed in with some current socio-political issues.Bear with me here.  Sometimes ideas just come and must be written.  This one reared its ugly head, and I ignored it for a while, but it can no longer be ignored.Tell me what you think.Rey is a student at the University of Jakku.  While doing research for an IT class project she stumbles across a website for the US Department of Homeland Security.  Curious because she has no idea what the US is, she hacks in.And thus begins her journey into finding out the truth of New Coruscant.Or...In the early 21st Century women decide they've had enough of men's garbage, and decide to carve out their own country.





	1. Chapter 1

My name is Aerreya Andor Kenobi. I live in Niima Outpost, Jakku. I am nineteen years old. I have a brother. My family will come back for me. 

I stare at the words I’ve written nearly every morning for eleven years, since I could type. I don’t understand what’s so important about the message that I feel the urge to write it over and over. I stare at the screen, the document blank other than those twenty-eight words that sum up what I think of my life. 

My finger lingers over one word in particular. Brother. A pop up menu lists options, and I move to touch dictionary.

At the same moment there’s a thundering knock on my door. Holy shit they must know what I’m doing! I hurriedly erase the words as I call out, “Who’s there?”

“It’s Rose, duh,” my friend replies through the door. 

I take a few deep breaths, look around my room to make sure it’s presentable, and open the door. Rose bursts in, the usual big ball of kinetic energy always looking for something to do. 

“So, do you have your research ready for Dr. Tano’s class?” she asks.

“That’s not due until next week,” I tell her, as I gather my tablet and my laptop into my bag. 

“Nope. It’s due today.” She raises an eyebrow and gives me a smirk. 

“Oh shit,” I mutter. I hurry through the door as I check the time on my phone. I have an hour and a half before class. “Why didn’t you remind me?” I demand when she’s beside me. I lock the door and nearly run toward the elevator. It quickly opens, probably because Rose just used it to come up to my floor. I step in, and she follows.

“Do you really think you have time to finish it now?” I’m not sure if she’s intentionally trying to mock me or not, but it grates on my nerves. I guess I’m just not in the mood today. 

“Maybe if you leave me alone long enough to work on it, I will.” I snap, and I feel terrible for it as soon as I say it. I look over at her and open my mouth to apologize. 

But she just shrugs and smiles. “It’s not my fault you don’t do your homework.” She holds her head up and shakes her ponytail before she exits. Then she walks down the left hallway toward the cafeteria without looking back. 

I watch her walk away, wasting precious minutes I could be at the library. I shake my head and mumble “Fuck” as I pull out my phone. **SORRY!** I text her as I walk toward the front doors. 

The library is the only place we students can use the internet, or I would have followed her and had breakfast while working on this stupid project. I remember now why I put it off. I created a network sniffer in ninth grade, why am I doing it again in college? 

I look up at the sky, and at seven o’clock the sun is already baring down, and there’s not a cloud in the sky. Gotta love Jakku. When I get my degree I’m moving to Kamino. It might rain all the time, but at least it’s not ninety in the shade before noon. I hate the heat, and I don’t know why. I’ve never lived anywhere else. I’ve never even _been_ anywhere else. Rose chose to come here to college, and she’s from Chandrila! I mean, Jakku U does have a good tech program, but it’s soo damn hot!

I’m sweating when I arrive at the library, and I’m thankful for the air conditioning. I find an empty table, since most of the students are still eating breakfast. I begin booting up my laptop as I pull out my tablet. I see the document titled _Morning_ , and quickly delete it. I don’t know why I can’t tell anyone that I remember what my mother told me so many years ago. But I protect the information like it’s the most important secret in the world. 

I click on the Chrome icon once the computer is up and running, and I slam my hands on the table when I see the message on the screen. 

**The internet is currently unavailable.**

The three other girls who are in the room with me turn to look at me. Shit. Today is not going as planned. 

“Sorry,” I singsong. They each roll their eyes and return to their work. 

I glance over at the librarian, who has headphones on. Good, she didn’t hear me. But I also don’t think she’s going to be too helpful either. 

So I open a command prompt box, and begin pinging IP addresses. Nothing comes back. 

Until suddenly I type in an IP and it works, and it returns a ping in 3 milliseconds.

I route through it, and when I refresh Chrome again a strange page comes up. 

It’s a navy blue background with a white seal, like the ones the government in Coruscant uses. But this one is different. This one has an eagle on it, and it says US Department of Homeland Security.

_What is the US?_

Suddenly the network sniffer is forgotten. I start immediately trying to hack into this strange website. It looks official, but I wonder if it’s something one of the students made for a project. If so, coming up with an IP to route it through was a nice touch. 

As soon as I’m in I find a page titled _Securing the Borders_. I lean forward to get a better look, and I’m shocked at what I read the news story. 

Men and women are flooding across the southern borders this year. In the first half of the year alone, over 1.7 million migrants, roughly half of which are female, have sought amnesty in the US. Temporary housing for women is set up along the western wall, but the senate in New Coruscant is slow in accepting the new immigrants.

“New Coruscant is currently building more housing in the western part of Correllia, but at this time the women will have to wait in Texas. When the housing is ready the women will be accepted,” Governor Organa said in a press release Tuesday.

Housing for the women is not the only problem being experienced on the southern border. Some of the women are demanding to stay with their husbands and male children.

Secretary Luke Skywalker spoke from the capitol on the troubling development. “The US government is not prepared to accept female migrants at this time. The men must be integrated into our society, then the government will run background checks to ensure the validity of the marriages and the parentage of all children, male and female. We will not change sixty years of tradition for newcomers. Those who cannot conform to our society will be returned to their country of origin.”

Both statements were met with no opposition from the respective governments. The Resistance released a statement from leader Jyn Erso, which can be read in its entirety here.

_Jyn Erso_. 

Why does that name seem so familiar? 

And what the fuck is a _male_? 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, Rey gets her first look at a man, and he's gorgeous! I wonder who that tall guy with dark eyes and even darker hair could be. :-D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think! :)

I stare at the page, processing my thoughts. There’s a video attached to the story, and I click on it. 

There’s a person on camera, but it’s not any type of person I’ve ever seen before. They’re tall, standing a head above the other people around them. They’re wearing a navy jacket, and a navy blouse, and something silky tied around their collar and hanging down the front. I wonder if that is to draw attention to their height, or their flat stomach. 

Their hair is the darkest night black I’ve ever seen, cut just at their ears before cascading down to their collar, and brushed away from a wide forehead to their right. They run their hands through it nervously, before steeping to the mic. I’ve never seen eyebrows so dark and full, framing the most expressive dark eyes I’ve ever seen. Their nose is big and should seem out of place, but it fits somehow in their long, wide face. They look upset, annoyed maybe, their full pink lips tipped downward in a frown. 

“Coming to the stage soon will be Luke Skywalker. I’m here to give some statistics. In the past month alone nearly a quarter of a million females have been stopped at the border. That’s up significantly over last month.”

They continue spouting numbers and percentages, but it’s not what they say. It’s their voice, deeper and richer than any I’ve ever heard before. They’re mesmerizing. Enchanting. But they seem so lonely, thoughtful, sad almost. But their eyes… Their eyes are so dark, bottomless almost. They look like they’ve seen too much. They look like they’ve had all the thoughts and feelings. They look…

**WARNING.**

**INTERNET BREACH.**

**VIOLATION 593J.**

The video stops suddenly, and the screen turns red with bold black letters in the center. I look around, and find the librarian who was listening to headphones is now staring straight at me, with her phone to her ear. 

I stare at her for several moments, then I return my attention to the screen. What in the hell a violation 593J is. I should look it up. 

I try to exit out of the page, but nothing happens. I try to Alt-F4, but nothing happens. I hit Ctrl-Alt-Delete, several times. Nothing. My entire computer is locked up. 

I close it up and shove it in my bag, before I throw it over my shoulder. I’m walking toward the front door when I see two security guards entering. 

What the fuck have I done?!?!

I turn quickly and walk toward the bathroom. Maybe they aren’t after me. Maybe I’m being paranoid. Maybe…

“Stop! You there!” One of the women yells. 

And I’m almost to the bathroom when I feel a hand on my arm. “Didn’t you hear me? I said stop,” the woman says. 

I turn toward her and mutter, “Fuck.”

“You know there is a strict no swearing policy on campus,” the blonde tall woman taunts. “Not to mention the illegal internet use.”

“But I didn’t…” I begin.

“Save it,” she says as she tugs on my bicep. I have no choice but to follow after her. 

*****

I’m sitting in a strange room alone. They took my computer, tablet, and phone. There’s only a table in the room, four chairs, and some weird mirror that’s almost as big as the wall. I’ve never been in a room like this. I’ve never even seen a room like this. 

I’ve never seen a lot of things that I’ve seen today. Who was… No, scratch that. _What_ was that person that I saw on the screen? What is the US? What is happening?

I don’t have to wait long before the blonde woman returns with Dr. Holdo, the dean of the college. She’s carrying a tablet, looking down at it. “So you must be Rey Andor,” she says before she looks up at me. She takes in my buns, my bright red t-shirt, and my black leggings. Her eyebrow goes up before she sighs loudly. 

I nod. I must be in some really deep shit. 

“You are the one who hacked into the Other’s system.” She says it with what sounds like equal parts shock and awe. “I would say good job, but I have a feeling there will be repercussions.” 

I take a deep breath and clear my throat. I don’t even know what I did was wrong, actually. But I won’t say that out loud. Instead I ask, “What was that?”

She smiles with a scoff and shakes her head. “That was probably your biggest mistake of your young life.” 

I have a feeling I’m not going to get any real answers, not from Dr. Holdo anyway. I sit back in my chair, staring at my hands. I can feel the tension in my face, how my eyebrows are pulling down toward my nose. Just like the person in the video. 

She takes the seat across from me, and places her hand on my gently. “I remember the first time I saw a man. I was a little younger than you, doing homework while listening to music, and Big Bang came on. For whatever reason the censors didn’t block K-Pop, and I became enamored.” She giggles like a little girl. “Oh how I fell in love with G Dragon and Top. Those dark Asian eyes, the thick black hair. Not to mention their muscular bodies with all that firm tan skin.” She laughs again. “So fucking hot.” She has a faraway look in her eyes, like she’s remembering it fondly.

But I don’t really understand what she’s saying. “Were they in Jakkuu?” I ask. 

“What?” she mutters, her clear blue eyes finding mine. She chuckles again. “No, not temperature. Looks.” I shake my head. She shrugs. “I showed my best friend Larma D’Acy. Eventually everyone in our class knew. Larma told her mom, asking where Big Bang were and how she could get one.” She smiles brightly. “We were eventually told all about men. We were separated from the other girls for obvious reasons.”

“What is a men? What were the obvious reasons? What is K-Pop?” I can’t contain my curiosity any longer. 

“Man is singular. Men are plural,” she corrects me gently. “Men are.” She stops and pulls her hand away from mine, lacing her fingers together before placing them in her lap. “Men are…”

“Well?” I ask, after she doesn’t speak for several moments. 

“Men can’t be explained. They aren’t what you think they’ll be. No matter what you expect, you don’t get it.” She sighs and scoots her chair back to stand up. “I thought I’d get Top, instead I got Gial Ackbar.” 

“Is any of this supposed to mean anything?” I ask.

“You’ll figure it out eventually. Or maybe you won’t.” She exits the room, leaving me to think alone. 

I can understand what she meant about the fascination with dark eyes and black hair. Whenever I close my eyes I see them, looking so sad and lonely. 

The blonde woman enters the room again, big and imposing. “You’re staying in custody until we can figure out what to do with you. You can’t go back to class.”

“What do you mean I can’t go back?” I demand. 

“You’ll be staying here until the higher ups decide where to put you.” I stand up and follow her, because I don’t feel like I have any other choice. 

I’m led to a room that has bars on the door. _Bars!_ “What is this?” I demand. 

“It’s a cell. Get used to it. You’ll be here for a while,” the blonde says. I enter, and she closes the door behind me. “Someone will bring your clothes.”

She locks the door before she walks away, and I stand here with my hands on the bars. 

_What the hell is a jail cell?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we see what's commonly known as backstory.

“In the early 21st Century, men and women lived together in a broken society. Crime was a prevalent part of the culture, with daily reports of shootings, murders, rapes, infanticide, and domestic violence fueling outrage and mistrust between the sexes. Women tried valiantly to change the culture nonviolently, with marches and protests, and online campaigns. Nothing changed. Men became increasingly more violent. Mass shootings occurred so often that the population became almost disconnected.” 

I feel the tears running down my cheeks as I gaze at the images on the screen that accompany the narration. Headlines recount atrocities. Pictures show people crying over lifeless bodies. It is enough to crush a woman’s heart. 

“In 2021, influential women led by Senator Padme Amidala came up with a plan to split the country known as the United States. At that point in history, women made up more than half of the population, and two-thirds of those women stood with Senator Amidala. The men became angry, but could not fight against their mothers, wives, and daughters. So they began what they considered a charm offensive, proposing stronger legislation against offenders who perpetrated violence against women. But still nothing changed.” 

Images of Padme Amidala with her husband, Anakin Skywalker, are shown. She is beautiful, regal, and obviously with child. He is tall, handsome, but stiff beside her, visibly bothered. 

“During an argument about the proposed separation, Padme’s husband Anakin Skywalker became enraged and choked her, causing her to lose consciousness and go into early labor. Because of this, more people are drawn to side with Amidala’s cause, male and female alike. Out of the tragedy New Coruscant was born. Padme was lost, but her legacy lives on.” The tears really begin to flow down my cheeks now, and I didn’t even know Padme Amidala. 

A map of the split United States is shown next. I live in Jakku, in a place formerly known as Arizona. The states of California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado are now parts of New Coruscant. We’ve been taught nothing of our history, the history of the United States, or the world. We’ve been taught medicine, agriculture, and technology. Literature, art, and music is also taught, but I realize now that only female artists have been included in our education. 

“There are certain places in the former US that rebelled against the government, where men and women still live together. These are small areas of the population that have historically been self-sufficient, including North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Nebraska. The states are called the American Federation of States, and are under no protection from the US or New Coruscant. Trade has been established between the three previously joined nations. New Coruscant is under military protection of the US, because of concessions laid out during original negotiations. Those include…” 

“I think you’ve seen enough,” a confusingly familiar voice says. I look up to find Governor Organa standing outside my cell. I gasp loudly, and hastily close the computer. “You’re Rey Andor, I assume.” 

I stand, place the computer on my cot, and say, “Yes ma’am.” 

“Call me Leia,” she says, as she pulls a chair up. She takes a seat, her knees almost hitting the bars. “So, you’ve hacked into the DHS computers, and there are those in both regions that aren’t too happy about it. The US wants you prosecuted.” 

“They… what?” I ask, gazing at her with obvious confusion. 

“I know you’ve learned a lot in the past few days. Things that you didn’t know existed. Things that probably seem strange, foreign even.” She sounds sympathetic, but there’s also a bit of steel in her voice that shows she’s no pushover. “Jail, prosecution, murder. All those things have been eradicated in a female only culture, just like my mother knew they would be.” 

I glance over at the computer, and she nods. “My mother was Padme Amidala. My father killed my mother, and I was one of the first female citizens of New Coruscant.” 

“I’m so sorry,” I say as I wipe the tears off my cheek. 

“My closest advisors have suggested that since you know about men, and the United States, that you should be one of the Offered.” 

“Offered?” I echo, realizing this is something else I haven’t heard of. 

“To the men of the US.” She says it like it’s an afterthought. She even waves her hand. 

“Offered to the men…” I parrot, in complete and utter shock. 

“You will stay there for a year, after which you will return to New Coruscant. If you are pregnant you will have the baby here. If it is a male you will be asked to return to the father with the baby. He will accept the child, and either take you back into his home or send you back to New Coruscant. If you have a female child, the father may ask you to return until you have a male child.”

I listen to her intently, but it’s so convoluted I have a hard time following. “What?”

“If after you have a male child you do not wish to have a female child you may stay in New Coruscant.” She says it as if it should all make sense. “Or, after you have a male child you can be inseminated with a female zygote, if you don’t wish to return to the father.” 

I stare at her for several moments. She refuses to look into my eyes. “So the important thing is that the women of New Coruscant give the men of the US male children?”

“Something like that,” she says again, as if it’s nothing. “After the women graduate from college they are invited to Nevada, the only neutral state. It is a place where certain men can meet women chosen by the senate.”

“You put impressionable women at the mercy of these murderers,” I begin.

She interrupts me. “It is the way we have bought our freedom,” she asserts.

“It’s horrible,” I exclaim. 

“It is completely voluntary,” she corrects me. 

I sigh and shake my head. “This is slavery.”

“If you don’t want to go willingly you may be taken to be prosecuted. I’m not sure I can persuade them to ignore your mistake.” She clears her throat and stands up. 

“That’s blackmail,” I state.

“Something like that,” she mutters. “You’re young for an Offered. You may not be chosen.”

“But I can’t come back to Jakku and attend university?” I ask, although I already think I know the answer. 

She shakes her head. 

“I’m in a real mess, aren’t I?” 

“Yes, you are. I’ll try to talk to Luke. Maybe he’ll understand.” 

“Or maybe he won’t. Either way I’m at the mercy of men,” I say bitterly. 

“Yea. That’s about it.” She carries her chair as she walks away. 

And I get to sit in my cell, alone, and think about how one mistake brought me here. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! I'm desperate for input!

**Author's Note:**

> Your comments will help me to decide whether I continue with this idea, or drop it. I have so many other WIPs and I'm just not sure if this is the right subject for now.  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
